Hat Party Ideas

Kids love going to costume parties. It’s always exciting to dress up in cool costumes and imitate characters that they adore. Many kiddie parties today are usually themed as costume events and kids are required to show their best and coolest outfits.

Kids love wearing hat

Your kid also wants to have a costume party for his birthday. While it sounds like a good idea, it can be a lot of hassle, not only for you, but also for other parents. Imagine how much money and effort it takes to buy or make a new costume, only to have spaghetti sauce or ice cream spilled on it during the celebration.

If your child really wants to have a fun costume bash, why not meet him halfway? Just have a fun hat party. You don’t have to worry about extravagant costumes. Just tell them to wear kooky-looking hats, and you’re all set.

It’s not so difficult to plan a hat party. It just takes a bit of imagination, creativity and proper planning. Here are some ideas you might find helpful.

Fun Hatty Invites

Simple invations for hat party

It’s easy to find party invitations that will match your hat theme party. If you don’t have much time to spare, you can just pop into a party supply store and pick out a design that matches the hat party motif. Find invitations with prints that feature people or cartoon characters wearing big funny-looking hats on their heads, like Dr. Seuss’ Cat in the Hat. Make sure the hat stands out from the design.

If you’re very artistic and you still have a lot of time on your hands, you can make your own hat invitations. One idea is to cut plain hat shapes from cardboard, then paint them in different colors. Write the party details on the surface, and sprinkle with glitters for a sparkly effect.

Another idea is to take a photo of your child wearing a funny hat, then photocopy it and paste on cardstock paper. Write something like “Bring your best hat, ’cause I’m having a hats party!” Print the details underneath.

It’s also great if you can send actual hats to your guests. Paper party hats are inexpensive and ideal choices. Write the details on the inner side of the hat.

Be crafty when writing your invitation details. Use funny words and phrases like “Hats off to a hats party!” or “___ wants you to bring your best hat out!”. When you’re done with these invites, mail them as soon as you can. A couple of weeks in advance of the party is good. This will give everyone ample time to clear their schedule and prepare their “costumes”!

Hats Off To These Decorations

Just like the kids, your party venue must be “in costume” too. There are many fun and funky ways to decorate for a hat party. Here are some ideas you can try.

You can use any color motif you like for a hat party, just as long as it’s colorful. Settle for bright hues like yellow, blue, green, pink, purple or neon. Children love seeing lots of colors around them.

Once you’ve decided on the colors, get streamers, confetti and balloons in these hues. You can never go wrong with these cheap, but cheery decorations. Hang the streamers from the ceiling, tie the balloons to the chairs and sprinkle confetti all over the floor and tables.

Get colorful tablecloths. If you find some with hat prints (like sombrero or baseball cap) on them, these will be perfect.

Things needed for party

Use colorful table clothe

Collect hats for a wall art

Scatter beads, glitter and sequins on the tables. Just make sure the young kids don’t put these in their mouth, though.

If you’ve got a long table, line several crazy hats at the middle that face upwards. Weave a feather boa through them. Fill these up with colorful items like toys, marbles, and confetti.

Put up pictures and posters of cartoon characters wearing kooky hats.

Get several different kinds of hats and group them together on the wall, like a wall art.

Have a “Hat’s To You!” mural. Cover one wall with butcher paper and provide coloring materials for the kids. On the upper part of the paper, write in bold text “Draw the craziest and funniest hat you can think of!”. Let the children draw on the mural.

What Hat To Wear?

Since it’s all about hats, hats and hats, you should ask your guests to come in their best, most attention-getting hat or headgear. They can wear sombreros, berets, nurses’ cap, turbans, fisherman’s cap, witch’s hat, fedoras, or cowboy hats. Their hats can have funny looking characters or shapes on them, like large spiders or cartoon faces. Any kind will do, as long as it’s unique. As for their clothing, let them don comfy clothes, so they can still run around and play, even if they’ve got funny hats on their heads.

If you think it’s still too much to ask kids to wear hats during the party, you can also create simple hats for them. Distribute them at the party, and you’re all set to have some fun.

Here are some easy ones you can make.

Simple workshop on how to create hats! Check out this video.

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Cone-Shapes Hats For Wizards or Princesses – Get a heavyweight piece of paper and roll it in a cone shape. Staple or tape to secure. Trim the bottom part, for a nice rounded shape. Decorate with glitter, paint and other craft materials. You can also wrap it with gift-wrapping paper or foil. Use shiny purple wrapper for wizards and pink for a princessy look.

Visor Hat – Get brightly colored paper plates. Cut out their centers and make a band that fits on the child’s head snugly. Then, cut the round center into a half circle and staple to the band. Decorate with glitters, sequins and beads.

Princess Head Wreath – Get some cellophane wire and fit it over the child’s head. Then, get several pieces of curling ribbon and curl on end, then tie to the back of the headband. Pick out bright complimentary colors. These will look pretty flowing down the girl’s back.

Happy Hatty Games

Who wears this hat

No kiddie party is the same without fun party games! Here are some simple, but enjoyable ideas that will fit your hat party theme.

Who Wears This Hat? – Get some hats worn by different individuals, like a policeman’s hat, a baby’s bonnet hat, pirate hat, a chef’s toque and many more. Let the kids line up and get a hat. Whichever hat the kid gets, he or she must act how the person who wears the hat acts. Then, ask the child who he or she is pretending to be. If the answer is correct, the kid gets a prize.

Under The Sombrero – You need several familiar objects and a sombrero for this game. Put one object under the sombrero, without showing the kids. Give some clues, so they can guess what is underneath. The kid who answers first correctly wins a prize.

Musical Hats – First, ask the kids to form a circle. Everyone must have a hat on his or her head, except for one child. When the music begins, the kids take off their hat, pass it to their right, and wear the one given to them by the person on their left. This continues as long as the music is playing. When it stops, the kid missing a hat is out of the game. Continue this until only one kid remains as the winner.

Hat Toss – Get a large hat and place it upside down in the middle of the room. As few meters away from it, mark a spot where the kids will be standing. One by one the kids try to toss a candy into the hat. Every candy they successfully place in gets them a prize.

Hat Party Food

You can serve any kind of munchies for this party, like popcorn, chips, tacos, nachos, mini peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cookies and cupcakes. Just serve them in different hats, like sombreros, berets and even football helmets, and you’re all set. Just make sure these hat “containers” are clean though. Line them up with napkins, just to be safe.

Tacos food

Nachos for hat party

For the drinks, serve punch, soda or fruit juices in tall glasses. Garnish with paper umbrellas.

Another yummy foodstuff you can serve is Clown Sundies. You need ice cream for this. First, scoop ice cream balls and put them on a baking pan with waxed paper on its surface. Then, place a pointed sugar cone on top of each scoop. Decorate the ice cream to make it look like a clown’s face using candies or frosting, then let them freeze until it’s time to serve them.

Hat Favors

Sunglas for favors

You’ve been lavishing the guests with party goodies all day. Before they go, lavish them some more with cool party favors. Prepare goody bags filled with a particular kind of hat, sunglasses, boas, candies, and chocolates. Kids will love these little surprises.

There are also personalized gift items you can give, like photo frames or snow domes. One fun idea is to take a photo of each kid wearing his or her hat, using your Polaroid camera. Put them inside the frames and give to the kids. They’ll surely laugh at their silly faces.

Who said kids need expensive and extravagant costumes for an enjoyable costume party? With a hat party theme, your child and his guests will experience the same thrill, but without the large expenses and hassle. Try these ideas when you plan a happy hatty hat party!